Resetting mechanism for weft replenishing looms



Nov. 26, 1940. TURNER 2,222,995

RESETTING MECHANISM FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS.

Filed Sept. 11, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR RICHARD $.Tunusk Ndv. 26,1940. TURNER 2,222,993

RESETTING MECHANISM FOR WEFT REPLENISHING'LOOMS Filed Sept. 11, 1939 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG i u INVENTOR RlcHARp G TURNR ATTORNEY Patented Nov.26, 1940 UNITED STATES RESETTING MECHANISM FOR WEFT REPLENISHING ooMsRichard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Grompton & Knowles LoomWorks, Worcester, Mass, a. corporation of Massachusetts ApplicationSeptember 11, 1939, Serial No. 294,313 I 5 Claims. (Cl. 139-231) Thisinvention relates to improvements in resetting mechanism for weftreplenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention tocancel an initiated. replenishing operation when the loom stops becauseof weft failure.

In the usual weft replenishing loom there will be some part which-ismoved from its normal position to an abnormal or indicating positionwhen the weft detector initiates or callsfor a replenishing operation byindicating exhaustion of weft in the weaving shuttle. When this part,which may be termed a. controller, is in its abnormal or indicatingposition replenishment by an automatic actionof the loom, or at least anattempt at replenishment, will be a neces-.

sary result ofv continued loom operation.

If the filling breaks or becomes exhausted in the interval betweenindication of Weft exhaustion by the detector and a replenishingoperation -the loom will stop with the controller in indicatingposition. Under these conditions it is common practice for the Weaver toremove the broken pick of filling and also place a. fresh supply of weftin the shuttle, thereby making an automatic replenishment not onlyunnecessary but undesirable. Upon. resumption of weaving, however, thecontroller which is stillbeing in indicating position-will cause anautomatic replenishment of. weft and the fresh supply placed into theshuttle manually by the weaver will be discarded. The supply of weftthus discarded may be injured by its contact with the bobbin can if theloom be the bobbin changing type, but in any event it must again behandled before it can enter into active weaving.

It is an important object of my present invention to prevent thediscarding of the manually replenished weft by cancelling an initiatedtransfer should the loom be stopped by the weft fork while thecontroller is in indicating position.

The control for accomplishingthis result is derived from the weft stopmotion and acts to return the controller to its normal non-indicatingposition whenever the loom is stopped by weft failure. In this way theautomatic replenishment is cancelled and the manually replenished weftremains in action.

The. general features ofmy invention are applicable to bobbin changingand shuttle changing looms alike and I do not wish to be limited in theuse of my invention to bobbin changing looms. As a matter of convenienceI have shown the invention applied to a bobbin changing loom having acontroller of the type extensively used in shuttle changing looms of thekind illustrated for example in Patents Nos. 2,054,174 and 2,054,192. 7

The condition already described will exist ina loom operating with asingle type of weft, as well as in those looms which Weave differenttypes of weft. I have illustrated my invention in connection with amulticolor weft replenishing loom, but certain features of my inventionare not limited to looms of this type, inasmuch as the steps ofindicating weft exhaustion, initiating a-replenishing operation bymovement of the controller to'indicating position, and weft breakagewith subsequent cancellation of the replenishing operationc'an all occurduring the weaving of a block of single color in the pattern of thefabric being woven.

Weft stop motions are customarily of two types one of which employs aslide located at one side of the cloth and carrying "a fork to detectthe weft extending from the selvage into the shuttle box every otherloom beat, while the other type employs a fork mountedon the lay andlocated between the selvages to detect the presence or absence of wefton each beat of the loom. I have shown my invention in connection withthe latter type of stop motion, called commonly the center filling stopmotion, but I do not wish necessarily to be limited to a weft stopmotion of that type. It is sufficient if the stopping movement of somepart of the weft stop motion is communicated to the resetter for theaforesaid controller.

.With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrange.- ment of parts hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment ofmyinvention is set forth:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a weft replenishing loom having myinvention applied thereto, parts being in section, p

Fig. 2 is a plan View of a part of the loomtaken in the direction ofarrow 2, Fig. 1, parts being in section, I

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale on line 3-3 Fig. 1,showing the indication storing controllers which are reset by operationof my present invention,

Fig. 4 is a detailed view on an, enlarged scale of a part of thestructure shown near the center of Fig. 1, parts being in section,

. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale on line 5-5 of Fig.2, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a part of the weft stop motion mountedonthe loom breast beam and looking forwardly from the lay.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown a loom frame I0 having alay ll mounted on a sword I2 supported by and turning around rockershaft l3 near the bottom of the loom. A connector It extends rearwardlyfrom the lay and is connected to wrist pin I5 on the top shaft I6 whichmakes a revolution every pick of the loom.

a weft detector D located at the magazine side of the loom and actingelectrically in-the present instance to energize a solenoid I1 when-theweft;

on the bobbin B is exhausted and the active shuttle is on thereplenishing side' of 1th'e.looml' Energization of the solenoid maybeeffected by, means of a source of electric power Pwhicliis connected tothe detector bYlWlIe. l8 aridtothef solenoid by wire l9, while thedetector is con.-

nected to the solenoid by wire 20. When weft exhaustion occursin'thez-shuttle-the electric circuit indicated in Fig. lwill be closedto lift the core 2| of the solenoid ,and thereby elevate alifting arm22, see'-Fig.;3. --,A.carriage 25 is slid-- ably mounted on fixedpins 26and is provided with two controller fingers2j and 28, respec-;-

tively, connected to yielding positioning elements 29 which inthepresent instance may be spring plungers carried by the carriage, Eachcontroller finger carries a trip, 30 adapted for coope eration one at atime with the liftingarm 22.-

The position of the trips with respect to the lifting-arm .isdetermined- -,by the mechanism shownat the bottom of Fig. 1, whereacable 3| is attached to the lower end of an indicator lever 32 pivotedabout a fixed axis 33. The cable 3! extends-to the other side ofthe.loom and is attached byconnectionsnot shown either to the drop boxes orsome part movingin timed relation with them. The cable therefore actsto'rock the lever32 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1;: and aspring 34; rocks the lever, in a.

A cam 31 rotating once everytwo picks of the loom rocks a lever 38swinging about a fixed pivot 39 and a lifter'dog 4D pivotedtoftherforward, or left end of lever 38 as viewed in Fig.1,

is adapted for engagement with a normally stationary operating lever4l.- The'latter is connectedby rod 42' to transfer latch 43' and shuttlefeeler 44. The latch 43 is connected to the "usual transferrer arm 45,while the shuttle feeler is carried by supporting arm 46 and is swungrearward1y,or to the right as viewed in Fig; 1, when a transfer is aboutto occur," I i A magazinedesignated generally at M supplies twodifferent typeszof bobbins or weft carriers W and W'corr'esponding 'to'thetwoweaving shuttles mentioned. The magazine is rocked by theconnections indicatedin Fig. 1 so that the reserve bobbin under: thetransferrer arm corresponds to the active shuttle. Each shuttle willremain active for two picks or a multiple thereof and the alternation ofactivity on the part of the shuttles is controlled by a patternmechanism not shown and is accompanied by a shifting of the carriage-25. Y

The loom has ashipper handle 50 to operate a lever 5| attached to a'rearwardlyextending rod 52 which operates the shipping mechanism notshown for the loom. This mechanism is stance. in my prior Patent No.2,128,974.

well understood, left hand motion of the shipper handle as viewed inFig. 1 corresponding to a forward pull of rod. 52 to cause the loom tooperate. The shipper handle is mounted on shipper rod 53 and rocking ofthe latter in a *right hand direction as viewed in Fig. 1 from normalrunning position will effect loom stopxp fi- V 1 t is not deemednecessary to give a full description of the operation of thereplenishing ine'chanism or the shipper control since these partsarealreadyknown and are shown for in- It is thought sufficient for presentpurposes to state that both the controller fingers illustratedparticularly'in Fig. 3 will be normally in the down position occupied byfinger 28 of that figure and thatwhen, indication of weft exhaustion isgiven by the detector the lifter arm 22 will raise the controller fingercorresponding to the active shuttle to the position occupied-by finger21 in Fig. 3. Furthermore. the controllers are movable toward and fromactive position relatively to the lifter arm 22 by rocking of lever32in,

response to shifting of the drop boxes. The details .of the structureshown in Fig. 3 are set forthand described in the aforementionedPatent-No. 2,054,192. When either of the controller fingers 21 or 28israised a'replenishing operationhas'been initiated and when theexhausted shuttle again moves toward the magazine end of the 'loom thecontroller finger corresponding thereto will be in a position to directthe lifting dog 40 into lifting relationship with respect to leveri4l,see Fig. 3, whereupon the latch 43 will be set for transfer and theshuttle feeler 44 placed for detecting the position of the shuttlealong-the lay.

' As'already stated the present invention relates to means to reset the.fingers 21 and 28, and more generally the indication storingmechanism-of a weft replenishing loom, when the weft stop motion stopsthe loom'due'to failure of weft. It is well known that the various typesof filling 1 stop motions employed at the present time include in theirconstruction a part which is moved upon weft failure to'vefiect loomstop- I ping.- In the present instance I have elected to illustrate myinvention in connection with a center stop'motion of the typegenerally.em-:

ployedon silk looms; but 'I do not wish to be limited in' the practiceof my invention to this particular kind of weft stop motion.

In the application of my invention of the structure already'described itis convenient to use'ce'rtain parts which are shown in my co'-' pendingapplication Serial No. 225,607. Since the structure "shown in thatapplication is used with; my present invention I prefer to illustratethe transferrer arm which is the subject mat ter of the co-pendingapplication, since it provides the normal means forresetting' thecontrollers after a transfer. I wish it to be understood however-thatthe present invention can operate independently of the structure shownin" ti id mploy a' depndiflg I00 "pivoted to the lever. 90 at IM andhaving a tum-buckle I02 asset. forthin theco-pending application toreset-the active controller 21 or 28 at the time of a normal transfer. Atube I03 depends from the tum-buckle and has a stop collar I04 forengagement with the under side of a guide I05 through which'the tubeextends. The part I03 is made tubular herein for a purpose to be setforth but itcanbe considered as a continuation of rod I forrth'eresetting purposes just describedand it is .to be understood that thetube I03 will be held normally in its raised position shown in'Fig. 1atall times except during a transferring operation of the; loom.

- In. carrying my invention into effect I provide mechanism which willcause a resetting of an active controller finger in indicating positioncorresponding to an active shuttle the thread of which breaksor becomesexhausted during weaving vwith resultant loom stoppage through theweftistop motion. In this way the weaver can replenish the shuttle byhand without danger of a repeated automatic replenishment to be effectedby .the loo-m after weaving is resumed.

The type of weft stop motion illustrated is that customarily locatednear the center of the lay to detect the weft on every forward beat ofthe loom. These mechanisms are so well understood that I will'describesuch parts only as are necessary to. an understanding of my invention.Further description will be found in Patent No. 2,141,656 to Adams towhich reference may be made for the details of the weft stop mechanism.Referring to Fig. I have shown the lay as provided with a dagger IIO thevertical position of which is. controlled by the weft on the forwardbeat ofthe loom. If weft is present-the fork III will be supported andthe dagger will be in the relatively low position shown in dotted lines,but

if weft is. absent or broken the fork falls into thewell H2 in the layand the dagger will be raised to the full line position of Fig. 5, asthelay moves forwardly or in the direction of arrow a. The breast beamII 3 of .the loom has supported on the under side thereof a rolling rodII4 which rocks'in bearings one of which is indicated at I I5andhas-secured thereto a dog IIB having a notch. III positioned forengagement with the dagger I I0 when the latter is raised. A cam armI;i8.secured to the rolling rod II4 engages a second arm H9 on theshipper rod 53 to press the latter down and rock the shipper rod tostop-the loom when the dagger enters the notch.

Partsof the weft stop motion not essential to anunderstanding of thepresent invention are omitted but may be of usual construction.

A head I20 pivoted to the dog at I2I extends forwardly or. to the leftas viewed in Fig. 5 through a guide I22 supported by a hanger I23depending from the breast'beam and is attached to a wire I24. The wireextends through a tubular guide I25 which may be in the form of aclosely coiled spring one end of which is carried by the hanger. Theguide extends along the under side of the breast beam as shown in Fig. 2and-then leads rearwardly and has the end thereof extended through theturnbuckle I02 and secured within the vertical tube I03 as by soldering'or the like. Tube I03 corresponds to the lower part of the two part rodset forth in my co-pending application Serial No. 225,607 and is madehollow in the present instance to receive the flexible guide I25. Thewire I24 extends downwardly inside the tube I03 and. is attached to aplunger head I26 normally though not neclower part of Fig. 4.

Adjustment of the wire I24 with respect tothe guide I25 is obtained atthe weft, stop motion by makingthe head. .|20 in two adjustable parts asshown in Fig. 5. I

Under normal conditions with the thread intact during weaving thedagger. I I0 will be depressed to the dotted position of Fig. 5 and willpass under the notch III during the forward beat of the lay. When thefilling breaks, however, the dagger will remain raised in a mannercustomary to center stop motions and will engage the dog II6 to move itforwardly or to the left as viewed in Fig. 5 to cause rocking of shaftsI I4 and 53 to stop the loom. The center stop motion therefore'performsits primary function of stopping theloom when the weft breaks, but whenthe dog moves forwardly the wire I 24 is caused to slide through theflexible guide I25 with the result that the plunger head I23 isprojected downwardly from its normal position or to the dotted linesindicated in Fig. 4. If at this time the finger or controller in activeposition immediately under the plunger I26 has previously been raised byindication of weft exhaustion it will'be depressed by the plunger andthe replenishing mechanism will thereby be reset to normal condition,thus cancelling the transfer andpreventing an automatic replenishment.

When the loom is stopped the weaver will correct the mispick caused bythebroken or exhausted filling and will replenish the shuttle by hand,as is customary. Upon resumption of weaving therefore therewill be nocoupling of corresponds to the active shuttle and the filling stopmotion does not act to reset a controller finger in indicating positionbut moved out of active position because its corresponding exhaustedshuttle is temporarily idle.

It will be understood that projection of the plunger I62 is independentof motion on the part of tube I03 and can and ordinarily will occur whenthe latter is stationary. If the brake of the loom is loose so that thelay can reach front center position before stopping, a transfer willoccur and tube I03 will descend as well as plunger I23. The weaverhowever will notice that automatic replenishment has already taken placeand that it is unnecessary. to replenish the shuttle by hand."

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided mechanism forresetting whichever of the controllers 21 and 28 happen to be in activeindicating position when the loom is stopped through the weft stopmotion. It will be noted also that the tube I03 which is depressed byaction of the transfer arm to reset the controller fingers under normaltransfer conditions is also a carrier for the resetting devicecontrolled by the weft stop motion. Furthermore, while I haveillustrated my invention in connection with a socalled center stopmotion, I do not necessarily wish to be limited to motions of this type,inasmuch as other forms of filling stop motions have a part which ismoved to effect loom stoppage to which the wire I24 could be attached.Again, the invention is useful on looms operating with one or moreweaving shuttles and is also applicable to shuttle changing looms whichemploy es'sarily located within the tube as shown in the the controllers21 and 28 'or' parts. similar" to them. a

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and"modifications may be made therein by those skilledhin theart withoutdeparting from the spirit and scopezof the invention andI do not wish tobe limited to the detailsherein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a weft. replenishing loom having a re-' serve bobbin to betransferred into a weaving shuttle, transfer mechanism effective whenset for transfer tomove the reserve bobbin into the weaving shuttleduring a replenishing operation, means to initiate a replenishingoperation of the 100m upon occurrence of weft exhaustion in the weavingshuttle, a controller to be moved from normalto indicating position bythe initiating means, an actuator havingan operating stroke at two-pickintervals during the loom operation, coupling means controlled by thecontroller when the latter is in indicating position to couple theactuator to the transfer mechanism and set the latter for transfer,means to hold the controller in indicating position after the transfermechanism is set for transfer, a weft stop motion to stop the loom uponfailure of the thread in the weaving shuttle occurring subsequent tomovement ofthe controller to indicating position and prior to operationof the coupling means, and connections between the filling stop motionand the controller to require the latter to move into normal positionineffective to couple the actuator with the transfer -mechanism when theloom is stopped by failure of the weft.

2. In a multicolor weft replenishing loomhaving two reserve bobbins andoperating with two weaving shuttles'each of which may becomeactive,'transfer mechanism effective upon a com-/ plete operationthereof to insertreither of the reserve bob-bins into the weavingshuttle corresponding'thereto,a pair of controllers for the transfermechanism, one for each weaving shuttle, and each controller movablefrom normal to indicating position upon exhaustion of weft in the activeshuttle corresponding thereto,

means to move eachcontroller into and out of active position,thecontroller in active position corresponding to the active shuttle,means controlled by either controller when in indicating position andalso inactive position'toset the transfer mechanism ata given point ineach two-pick cycle of the loom for a transferring operation, means tohold the controller in indicating position after the transfer mechanismis set for transfer, a weft stop motion operating to stop the loom uponfailure of the weft thread of either shuttle when active, and resettingmeans operated by the weft stop motion and acting to move the controllerin active position and corresponding to the active depleted weavingshuttle from indicating to normal'position when" the weft tion, tliecontroller inactive position correspond ing: to theactive-weft supply,means controlled byeither controller when in active and indicatingposition to set the replenishing mechanism fora transferring operationwhich replaces the active depleted weaving weft supply with areserve-weft supply corresponding thereto,.means tohold the controllerin indicatingposition after the transfer mechanism is set for transfer,a weft stop motion to stop the loom upon failure of the weft ofv eitherof the weaving Weft supplies, and resetting means for the controller inactiveposition operated by the weft stop motion when the latter stopsthe loom to return a controller in the active and also inindicatingposition to normalposition to prevent operationof the weftreplenishing mechanism. H

4. In a multicolor weft replenishing loom operating with two weavingshuttles either of which may become active, multicolor weft replenishingmechanism to supply two types of reserve weft, one type for each weavingshuttle, setting means movable from normal to indicating position toset. the replenishing mechanism for a replenishing operation withrespect to the reserve weft corresponding to the active shuttle when thelatteris exhausted, subsequently acting means controlled by the settingmeans when in indicating position to complete the replenishing operationof the replenishing mechanism, means to hold the setting means inindicating .position after the replenishing mechanism is set for areplenishing operation, a weft stop motion to stop the;loom upon failureof the weft of either weavingg shuttle when active occurring between thetimes of operations of the setting means and said :subsequently actingmeans, and preventer means controlled by the weft stop motion to returnthe setting means to normal position and prevent operation of thesubsequently acting means when the weft stop motion stops the 100m.

5. In a multicolor weft replenishing loom operatingwith a pair of.weaving shuttles either of which may become active,,multicolor weft'replenishing mechanism to supply reserve wefts correspondin'gto the,weft supplies of the 'weaving shuttles, a controller for the weftreplenishingmechanism corresponding to each weaving shuttle, means tomove the controllers into and out of active position, the controller inactive position corresponding to the active shuttle, means operativeupon exhaustion of weft in the active shuttle to move the controllercorresponding thereto in activeposition from normal to indicatingposition, a controller in indicating position capable of moving out ofactiverp'osition when the weaving shuttle corresponding thereto becomesinactive, means controlled by a. con-' troller in indicating and alsoactive position to set;

normal position to prevent an operating of the I g 4 7o? weftreplenishing mechanism.

RICHARD G.

